1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a washing machine, and more particularly, to a washing machine and a method of changing system data therein that can achieve increase of convenience in use, improvement of washing performance, and improvement of operational efficiency by grasping causes such as trouble of the product itself, problems on installation, problems on the regional characteristics, living pattern change of a user, etc., and coping with such causes.
2. Background of the Related Art
Generally, a washing machine is a machine that removes pollutants from polluted laundry through processes of washing, rinsing, dehydration, etc. The washing machine is briefly classified into a full-automatic washing machine using rotation of a rotating wing, outer tank (i.e., washing tank), and inner tank (i.e., dehydrating tank) in a horizontal direction, and a drum washing machine using rotation of a drum in a vertical direction. To cope with diverse desires of users, diverse washing courses, functions, etc. have been developed and applied to actual products.
A conventional washing machine, as shown in FIG. 1, includes a motor 10 for directly or indirectly rotating a washing wing, inner tank, or outer tank, a load 11 such as a feed water pump, drain pump, etc., a key input section 12 for a user's input of various kinds of wash-related operation command, a display section 13 for displaying the operation state of the washing machine, functions, etc., and a system microcomputer 14 for controlling the driving of the motor 10 and the load 11 so that the washing operation corresponding to the user's operation command inputted through the key input section 12 is performed, and controlling the display section 13 so that the corresponding operation state or function is displayed.
At this time, the display section 13 is provided with light emitting diodes (LEDs), and the system microcomputer 14 is provided with a ROM for storing unchangeable wash-related programs.
The operation of the conventional washing machine as described above will now be explained.
First, the user turns on the power of the washing machine, throws laundry into the washing tank, and inputs a washing command through the key input section 12.
The system microcomputer 14 recognizes the washing command, reads out the corresponding washing program from the internal ROM, and performs the washing by driving the motor 10 and the load 11 based on the washing program.
At the same time, the system microcomputer 14 controls the display section 13 to display the present wash proceed state.
The conventional washing machine, however, may not fully perform its own function due to disharmony between the built-in programs and diverse use environments even though the product itself is not in trouble. This may cause the user to misunderstand its function as a trouble state, and also cause a service man not to able to grasp the cause of trouble of the product.
Now, the disharmony between the built-in program and the use environment is as follows.
The case that the product itself is not in trouble, but the user cannot be satisfied with the washing performance is mainly caused by the degree of hardness of water. That is, the washing performance is greatly affected by the degree of hardness of water (i.e., hard water/soft water), and in order to improve the washing performance, it is required to match the program to the use environment by changing programs of controlling a rotating angle of the washing wing, washing time, etc. However, the predetermined program of the conventional washing machine cannot be changed.
Also, the property of laundry is changed according to the change of family members. For example, the laundry of a newly married couple can be washed through a standard washing. If they have a baby, diapers are included in the laundry, and should be washed using a washing program having a strong rinsing function for sanitary reasons. According to the conventional washing machine, however, it is impossible to change the washing program.
Since the program change is impossible in the conventional washing machine, problems due to the above-described change of living patterns cannot be solved.
Next, even if a problem caused by the use environment, which is not a defect of the product itself, is misunderstood as a trouble, a service man may not find the cause of the problem, and thus make improper repairs.
During a dehydrating process, the washing tank may not rotate or rotate at a low speed, and thus the dehydration may not be performed. This may be caused by the trouble of the motor itself, or restricted rotation of the washing tank due to the tension of bubbles excessively produced due to an excessive input of a detergent. In this case, the motor may be damaged due to overload. However, the service man cannot find the cause of trouble, and thus it is difficult for the service man to consider a countermeasure.
Also, if the water-supply time is lengthened due to the problems on the water pressure of the house where the washing machine is installed, installation position (i.e., a high/low elevated area), water-supply method, etc., the user recognizes the trouble of water supply, and informs the trouble to a service center. In this case, the service man checks a water-supply valve, but if the water-supply valve is not in trouble, he cannot grasp the cause of the trouble.
In case that the service man can take in detail the use history, trouble history, etc. of the washing machine, he can analogize and analyze the trouble of the product and its components, or the use environment that is recognized as the trouble. However, according to the conventional washing machine, the operation state of the product, use history, trouble history, etc. cannot be grasped, and thus the service man cannot properly cope with the above-described causes.
In consequence, the conventional washing machine has the following problems.
First, since the operation state of the product, use history, and trouble history are stored, the above-described causes cannot be grasped during the repair of the product, and thus any hardwired countermeasure such as replacement of a component cannot solve the problems.
Second, since the unchangeable washing program is stored in a low-capacity memory, the problems due to the installation state of the product, regional characteristics, change of the living patterns, etc. cannot be solved.